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Marine and Coastal Access Bill [HL]

It is a great pleasure to respond to a debate that in many ways takes us back to our substantive debate in relation to Clause 2 on the first day of Committee. I do not think that any harm is done by that; indeed, it has helped to inform the debate. I have no doubt that we will have further discussions between now and Report, because it is obvious that noble Lords feel that Clause 2 as it stands does not capture appropriately the critical role of the Marine Management Organisation in contributing to sustainable development. Although I have serious reservations about the list approach in the amendments, I understand the importance of getting this right. If the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, is hosting meetings to discuss it, I hope that the Government can be part of them, because I signal from the outset that it is important to try to achieve consensus on this matter. I hope that that is a satisfactory response to the noble Baroness, Lady Byford, who suggested what the Government might do in the light of the debate. The noble Lord, Lord Eden, made a very interesting contribution. Our vision is for our oceans and seas to be clean, safe, healthy, productive and biologically diverse. At the same time, we must take action to tackle climate change, including through renewable energy developments. We shall continue to use the sea for a variety of reasons to deliver greater economic and social benefits. As the noble Lord, Lord Greenway, suggested, managing those pressures will be a challenging task. It will be achieved via what we have described as high-level marine objectives, on which we consulted last summer and which set out our interpretation of sustainable development principles as they would apply in the marine area. Our response to the consultation will be published shortly and will set out the high-level objectives for the UK marine area, which, I say in respect of the first group of amendments today, we will aim to agree with the devolved Administrations. Once published, those high-level objectives will underpin the development of the marine policy statement that will be delivered by the Bill, and we will discuss this in due course. The marine policy statement in turn will guide decision-making by the MMO and its development of marine plans as appropriate. The marine policy statement will identify how all marine delivery agencies, including the MMO, will approach the very difficult choices highlighted in our debates. I say to the noble Lord, Lord Eden, that nature conservation is a very important part of this Bill. The MMO is obliged to create networks of marine conservation zones under Clause 119. That is embraced within the Bill, which provides a thread from the sustainable development principles via the high-level objectives and the marine policy statement right through to their application by the MMO in individual decision-making. Moreover, the MMO will be issued with guidance as to how it is to achieve its general objectives. That guidance will be subject to review as government policy evolves. I say to the noble Lord, Lord Oxburgh, that I hope his summary of my comments was not accurate. If it was, that is not what I meant to convey. I was arguing that there are difficulties, as there are with this system, in simply singling out a particular expertise. I hope, given my support for the science base in this country, he will accept that I believe that evidence from scientists will play a major part in the Government’s role in the development of the marine policy statement and in the work of the Marine Management Organisation. I accept that there is a debate about whether that should be expressed in the Bill, but that is a second-order issue.